A day and a night had passed.
The trial on Mount Fujikasane was more of a one-sided slaughter than expected.
For demons, and for humans, too.
Sasuke's Revenge Points were steadily increasing.
But he was growing impatient.
The demons he encountered were all too weak.
So weak that he did not even need to use any Ninjutsu. The Sharingan's perceptiveness and basic Taijutsu alone were enough to dispose of them easily.
Prey like this could not give him the slightest thrill.
Nor could it satisfy his thirst for power.
He needed stronger opponents.
More concentrated demonic auras.
And more generous point rewards.
He stood in the crown of a towering tree, activated his Sharingan, and gazed deeper into the forest.
In his vision, faint demonic auras drifted like gray mist throughout the mountain forest.
But somewhere to the east, a distinctly denser aura lurked like solid ink.
"Found you."
An icy smile curved Sasuke's lips.
He locked onto his target, bounded a few times between the treetops, and slipped away as silently as a leopard.
However, just as he was about to approach that area...
A jumble of fighting sounds and terrified cries for help interrupted his pursuit.
"Help! Someone, save us!"
"We can't hold them off! Damn it!"
Accompanying them were the excited, piercing howls of several vicious demons.
Sasuke frowned.
He stopped and looked toward the sounds.
Those feeble candidates again.
He had intended to go around them. Whether these people lived or died was none of his concern.
But the howls of those demons stirred an inexplicable irritation in him.
Like a swarm of flies buzzing in his ears.
Too noisy.
He changed direction and crept toward the battlefield.
In a small forest clearing, two young candidates stood back-to-back, desperately resisting the attacks of three vicious demons.
Their uniforms were already in tatters, their bodies covered in wounds, and even their sword hands were trembling.
The three demons, however, were like cats toying with mice. In no hurry to kill them, they simply kept carving fresh wounds into their bodies with sharp claws, savoring their fear.
Sasuke stood in the distant shadows, watching it all indifferently.
He decided to clear the field quickly.
He slowly raised both hands and began forming Hand Seals.
Serpent, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger.
A series of complex, precise gestures flowed smoothly through his fingertips.
The two in the clearing had already reached their limits.
One was sent flying by a demon's claw, struck a tree, and fell unconscious.
The remaining candidate watched all three demons lunge at him at once, a bleak smile of despair spreading across his face.
Just then...
An indescribable, searing heat suddenly came from the edge of the battlefield.
Humans and demons alike involuntarily stopped moving and looked over.
They saw a black-haired boy standing there.
His mouth bulged in an unnatural fashion.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The next second...
A massive, blazing fireball more than five meters in diameter erupted from his mouth.
With the force of something that would burn everything in its path, the fireball howled and roared, instantly lighting up the entire night sky.
The expressions on the three demons' still-grinning faces froze.
Before fear could even take shape in their simple minds...
They were utterly engulfed by that irresistible force, like a natural disaster.
There were no screams, no struggles.
After the enormous fireball swept over them, only three heaps of black ash and a scorched trench dozens of meters long remained on the ground.
The surviving candidate knelt there, stunned, his mouth wide open but unable to make a sound.
He stared at the scene before him, like a divine miracle and yet like a magic trick, his mind utterly blank.
What was that?
A Breathing Style?
No, no Breathing Style could produce such a terrifying sight.
Was this... sorcery?
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain...
The Corps member responsible for monitoring let out a cry even more shocked than yesterday's.
"Look! Lord Kiriya! Lady Hinaki!"
In the footage, that enormous fireball filled almost the entire screen.
Even through the screen, they felt as though they could sense the searing heat that would burn everything to nothing.
"What... is this..."
For the first time, an expression called "shock" appeared on Hinaki's perpetually calm face.
"Creating flames... out of thin air?"
Kiriya stood up as well, staring fixedly at the screen, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Throughout the Demon Slayer Corps' history, there had been no shortage of geniuses with exceptional swordsmanship, nor of powerful fighters who could push Breathing Styles to their limits.
But someone who fought with "techniques" like this, like an Onmyoji from legend, was unheard of.
Sasuke slowly lowered his hands.
He cast a cold glance at the survivor still kneeling on the ground and the unconscious fellow nearby.
There was no pity or concern in his eyes.
Only a warning.
A warning not to make any more unnecessary noise and disturb his hunt.
Then he turned and melted into the darkness once again.
As though that earth-shattering fireball had been nothing more than a pebble he had casually tossed aside.
"Immediately... encrypt this footage and send it to the Master."
Only after a long while did Kiriya find his voice again, his tone more serious than ever before.
"This Uesugi Sasuke... his existence may be even more important than we imagined."
Before you continue